Kaz Konnor
Kaz Konnor is one of the three Discovery Corps Bright Wings for the Gaean Systems. He has system-wide fame as an explorer and pilot leading forces to discover and found new worlds. Appearance Kaz is rakishly handsome and knows it. He's very vain and values his appearance highly and always has. He wears his hair short and pushed back but it is always long enough that you cannot fully see his skull tattoo any longer. Kaz is Khaad, giving him dark hair and, when compared to Earth heritage, a Mongolian appearance in ethnicity. His Khaad species also gives him a slightly scaled skin texture along the edges of his cheekbones which travels down his neck. Khaad also have denser than usual bones because of the increase gravity on the planet and slightly increased strength to compensate. He is weaker for a Khaad which still makes him stronger than most humans. History Kaz was a known smuggler and drug-runner on the moon of Khaad before it's Founding into the systems. He and Lei Carter were sought after smugglers by the criminal forces of Khaad and hunted by the Masters who controlled the governing of the moon. Lei and Kaz have known each other for the vast majority of their lives. Lei remembers finding Kaz and them becoming adopted siblings, but he doesn't recall as he was a few years younger. For him she has always been there. They survived together in the Pits of the Khaad mining cities, doing their best every day to stay alive with the other orphans and abandoned souls. It was a severely challenging childhood. Lei earned money through Brawls, while Kaz earned money from sex work, which let them earn enough money to get the ships that allowed them to start smuggling. The day they got their first ships they gave themselves matching tattoos of birds of prey curling around their skulls. Kaz's tattoo is a Peregrine. They began smuggling, growing in reputation through their teen years. During this time the Discovery Corps made first contact and began attempting to negotiate with the Masters for Khaad's entry into the systems. During a particular smuggling run, they faced a uniquely challenging drone. That drone was ultimately revealed to be a recruitment test from Discovery Corps. Lei and Kaz were introduced to Captain Twine who told them that negotiations with the Masters, after lasting years, continued to show no progress. The captain's ship was sent to Khaad to overthrow the Masters in a guerrilla movement in order to ensure Khaad's entry into the Systems. She offered Lei and Kaz a role in that revolt and a position in the Discovery Corps. Lei Carter and Kaz Konnor were broadcasted systems-wide as they overtook the final Master stronghold with the Discovery Corps. The entire system watched Lei Carter shoot down the final Masters without hesitating or flinching. Kaz did not kill anyone during that mission. In the years following Kaz Konnor and Lei Carter climbed rapidly in reputation amongst the Discovery Corps as exceptional Wings. They were known to not follow military protocols and often to put themselves into dangerous situations, but also as extremely talented flyers who accomplished goals albeit in unconventional ways. **ADD SECTION AFTER RELEASING THE SECOND PART OF "TAILOR"'S STORY** In the years following the Battle of the Glutt, Kaz Konnor's star continued to rise. He grew in fame and popularity, which when combined with his flying skills, which was not on par with Lei Carters but was still very strong, eventually earned him the role of Discovery Corps Bright Wing at an earlier age than most. Currently At the start of our story Kaz is currently serving as Bright Wing. He is very popular, and his activities liberating worlds with the Discovery Corps are broadcast systems wide as a television program. His show feels fun and exciting, with a lot of cultural and interpersonal interactions as well as some classic space adventures. Pseudonyms * Karl * Leonard ('Lenny') In-game appearances * The group found Anek Allegro in Vox Tempest's office in Maelstrom, flicking through the television channels. Kaz's show was one of the programmes he was seen watching. * A hologram projection of Kaz was seen at the Toska Research and Development arms' fair, making a fuss over a new Wing design. * Kaz was seen entering Maelstrom one night, to the delight of the crowd. He made his way to the stage, and struck up a dance routine, before inviting Arno Stern to join him. As the dance ended, he kissed Arno. * Kaz spoke to Arno and Boombox at the bar of Maelstrom, confessing that he had come in search of Vox Tempest to discuss a possible job opportunity. Since Vox appeared to be absent, he suggested they just get really fucking drunk together instead. * Arno and Kaz started a wrestling match together in the centre of Maelstrom, as the crowd cheered and Pearl emptied champagne over them both. Boombox was so excited, that he started a small fire - which soon spread, given the amount of alcohol spilled everywhere. * As everyone was ushered out of the club by Crunch and the rest of The Gang, Kaz wrapped an arm around a nearby Nyx girl, before approaching Terra and whispering something in his ear. Terra hesitated a moment, before muttering 'fuck it' and leaving with Kaz and the girl. * Kaz returned to Maelstrom the following morning, as clean-up was underway. He apologised to Vox for the damages, and transferred some cred to cover the costs. He then went on to offer the group a job: a rescue mission to retrieve Quince Malady from Sagi. * Arno and Boombox went to The Docks to talk to Kaz about the job whilst he worked on his Bright Wing. Kaz tried to fill them in on what he knew of Sagi, the capital city Quon, its defences, and what had happened in the Battle of the Glutt with the Time Traitor. * Kaz took Elsy Speck for a flying lesson, to teach her how to pilot a Bright Wing. Once Elsy got the hang of things, he proposed a race, which Elsy agreed to with barely-contained glee. The race was neck-and-neck until Kaz faltered on a corner, and Elsy managed to dash ahead, beating him by a hair. Kaz was delighted, before growing wistful - confiding he had not seen a pilot fly as well as her in a very long time. * Kaz, Elsy and Pearl flew Bright Wings containing the rest of The Nova and Shank down to Sagi. Their ships came under attack by Fractures forces, which the group eventually managed to fight off - with the help from Boombox leaping out of one of the Wings and chucking a grenade at a Fractures ship. As Boombox plummeted to the ground, Kaz flew expertly beneath him to catch him. * After staging the group's crash landing on Sagi to look like there had been no survivors, everyone took shelter in a Goodbutter Foodsmarts operating facility. Kaz and Boombox took the final watch together, and Boombox opened up to Kaz, telling him of how he had chosen to take charge of his own life. Kaz approved of his story, and held onto Boombox's hand as they watched the sun rise. * As Vox, Elsy, Arno and Kaz entered the capital city of Sagi - Quon - Kaz stopped suddenly and let out a noise of frustration as they saw a gigantic projection of Lei Carter, proclaiming her a 'World Killer', along with a seemingly endless stream of hash marks. ** Vox scanned Kaz, wanting answers on what had happened with Lei Carter. He saw a vision of a much younger Kaz and Lei, sitting outside what appeared to be an incredibly wealthy home, the two of them gazing in silent awe at the sunrise. The vision shifted then to the two of them older, and Lei calling at Kaz to stop as he fired a gun. ** The group tried to quiz Kaz on what the projections meant. Kaz tried to deflect them, before cagily admitting that the Fractures blamed Lei for causing thousands and thousands of deaths, as represented by the hash marks. He explained that the Fractures had an 'eye-for-an-eye' policy, and they would kill as many citizens from the Gaen system as she had killed from theirs. * Anticipating trouble given Kaz's renown, Vox gave him face-masking technology he had acquired. Kaz at first set it to show Vox's face, before switching it to Tailor Wren's. He appeared amused at how increasingly flustered Vox became, before settling on an anonymous face. * Vox, Elsy, Arno and Kaz made their way to Red Tea's flat, who let them in once Arno introduced them as friends of his daughter's, Jinny Tea. Kaz remarked how uncomfortable he was at Red's overt hospitality, stating that he thought it was something out of a fairytale. * Vox brought the group over to a Sagi bar famous for its herbal cocktails so as to make contact with his friend, Linger Line. Vox introduced Karl as 'Leonard'. When Linger asked what they all thought of the Fractures, Kaz burst out "I think they're full of shit." * Back at Red's apartment, Kaz insisted on sharing a bed with Arno. He didn't end up getting much sleep as a result - albeit, not for the reasons he was hoping, as Arno kept him up with incessant questions about whether Kaz thought they were doing the right thing. * The following morning, Arno brought Kaz coffee. Kaz cautioned Arno about not believing too much of what he heard at the meeting between the Sagi council and Fractures forces representatives, as they lied and twisted the truth. Arno assured him he would 'buy into your bullshit', prompting Kaz to laugh and tousle his hair. The tousle turned more intimate, as he began to brush it back from Arno's face instead. Arno told Kaz to get up, and left him there. * Kaz opted to accompany Vox to the Biscay district so as to meet with the group Linger was a part of, a pro-Systems faction named the Convergence. As they made their way there, he asked Vox about Arno and the club, before suddenly interrogating him on his relationship with Tailor Wren. Vox tried to deflect by grilling him right back on him and Lei, but Pearl interrupted them both before the conversation spun too much into an endless feedback loop. * At the Convergence meeting, Vox told Kaz to remove the face masking technology when the group asked for proof of their loyalty. Kaz stood up with a flourish, removing the illusion as he introduced himself and vowed to save the system. He then spent the rest of the meeting trying to take charge of the operation and speaking over Vox. * At the beat poetry club, Kaz approached Shernobyl - aka Boombox - and tried to perform a secret handshake, which Boombox only half maintained so as to keep up his cover. He went on to repeatedly urge the members of The Nova to form a concrete plan, as the group kept descending into bickering with one another. * That night in Red's apartment, Arno asked Kaz what he thought about the plan. Kaz warned him that he was completely certain Vellichor would not agree to Arno's terms. He also admitted he himself did not completely agree with Arno's plan, because he wanted the Systems to ultimately take the city back. He promised he would do what he could to keep the city safe, but needed to look long-term. He went on to remark Arno must have looked pretty sexy calling out the Fractures on 'their bullshit'. Arno responded by asking whether he thought Vox was mad at him. * Kaz accompanied the group to the Docks to try rescue Shank from the Ochyl ship they were being held on. When alarms started sounding across the city all of a sudden, he asked Arno what he should do, with Arno instructing him to go after Elsy and Boombox. Kaz thus ran up to the two of them and suggested they take this distraction as an opportunity to try save Quince. * As Kaz, Boombox and Elsy reached the building Quince was being held in, they looked across the city and realised the gigantic Goodbutter harvesters were trundling toward Quon, crushing the various structures in their path. Kaz groaned that he fucking hated corporations. Boombox handed them both one of his explosives before taking off on a motorcycle towards the harvesters. Elsy attempted to throw it at the building to create an entrance, but it ricocheted back at them both. Kaz caught it just in time to toss it back towards the tower, but they were both still caught in its blast radius and sent crashing back against a nearby wall. * Inside the tower, Elsy and Kaz searched for a way to gain access to the elevators, so as to get to the level where Quince was being held. Elsy told Kaz they would need a distraction, prompting Kaz to immediately rush into the middle of the room shrieking 'my vapours!' before collapsing. ** Elsy attempted to pickpocket a guard whilst they tried attend to Kaz, but was caught in the act. She explained herself away by insisting she was simply fraught with worry for him, and that they needed to get him upstairs to his apartment. Kaz called dramatically for his 'pens'. The guard reluctantly agreed to accompany them upstairs in the lift. However, when he asked what floor, neither Elsy or Kaz could recall which one. The two of them managed to convince the guard to lend them his keycard, which he reluctantly agreed to, but warned them he expected them back downstairs to return it soon. ** Kaz and Elsy made it to the floor Quince was being held. Elsy kicked down the door, with enough force that shrapnel fell back and struck Kaz across the face. ** Once inside, Elsy found herself tackled and pinned to the ground by a snarling Quince, brandishing a banana knife. Kaz yelled at Quince to 'chill', which snapped Quince to her senses, and she realised who she had been attacking. Quince sat up in shock, asking what they were doing here. Kaz weakly responded they were there to rescue her. * Elsy, Quince and Kaz made their way to the building's roof, where they found several Fractures' Silver Fish ships. They each hopped into one, and took to the sky. Kaz immediately took off into the direction of the rogue Goodbutter farming equipment that was destroying the city. * Upon reaching the farming equipment, Kaz was shocked to find Boombox was already on the case, having successfully pulled himself up onto one of them with the help of a motorcycle, a rocket, and grappling hook. Boombox instructed him on where to shoot, and Kaz obeyed. Unfortunately, as the equipment went down, Boombox went flying and hit the ground with enough force that one of his legs shattered. ** Once the equipment was dealt with, Kaz flew down to help Boombox, picking him up and helping carry him to his ship. He radioed in the rest of the Discovery Corps, once Quince destroyed the Rattler, instructing them where to shoot so as to take them out. After Boombox weakly asked if they knew it had been his idea, Kaz ruefully conveyed the message. * As everyone made their way back to Phobos from Sagi, Kaz approached Vox in the mess hall, who was visibly extremely anxious due to his inability to get in touch with Terra. Kaz told Vox he thought he took things way too hard, and that he needed to relax a little. He pointed out one of the soldiers standing not too far off, confiding that he hadn't shut up about Vox since he'd first seen him, and offered to introduce them. When Vox declined, Kaz bluntly informed him that he had not seen anyone as badly in need of a good fuck as he, and suggested he 'get his ankles in the air' to unwind. Vox vehemently repeated his insistence that he was just fine and didn't need Kaz's help. ** Before taking his leave of him, Kaz paused and told Vox he was luckier than he suspected he realised. Vox responded that he realised enough, prompting Kaz to look over at Arno and retort that Vox didn't see nearly as much as he thought he did. ** Kaz then made his way over to Arno, holding out his hand for their secret high five. Arno snubbed him and walked away. * Kaz later encountered Arno and Boombox - who had found a segway as a makeshift way to get around without one of his legs - having a conversation in the hallway. He again held out a hand for a secret handshake, which Arno yet again ignored, and Boombox mistook as intended for Arno. Boombox did thank Kaz however for his help with the farming equipment and for rescuing him. He then proceeded to rob something from him, and whisk away on his segway. * As Elsy left Quince's apartments following a mini-date, she encountered Kaz in the hallway, and gave him a high five in joy. * Upon returning to Phobos, Vox immediately dashed away to return home to Maelstrom, leaving the rest of the group to have to deal with his usual job of handling payment. Neither Boombox or Elsy wanted to, leaving Arno to take up the task. He awkwardly approached Kaz, but was unable to hide his displeasure with having to interact with him again. * At the Maelstrom reopening party, after Miracle Belle called Vox onto the stage, she announced that she was only going to perform with one dancer that night - before introducing Kaz, who immediately leapt up onto the stage alongside them, much to Vox's horror. ** When a person from Sagi made an attempt to stab Quince, Kaz tried to help get the situation back under control once Crunch and the other bouncers wrestled the would-be-murderer out of the club. * Vox went to see Kaz at the Docks a week later, in order to reclaim his face-masking technology that Kaz had used on Sagi. He was accompanied by Elsy, Boombox and Terra. Kaz greeted them all cheerfully, and Vox thanked him for handling the situation at Maelstrom. Kaz commented he had hoped to stop by the club, but the Praetorian investigation had thrown a spanner in the works. ** Once Vox asked, he returned the face masking tech - albeit looking slightly worse for wear. Vox decided to test it on Elsy, who chose to turn the face to that of Lei Carter's, given that she had just returned from meeting her. Kaz looked incredibly uncomfortable. ** Vox informed Kaz that Arno and the rest of the group were going to be working with Lei, and asked if Kaz had any advice for them, given he had heard word Lei could be difficult to work with. Kaz was clearly uneasy and did his utmost to avoid the subject. *** Vox scanned Kaz again, and viewed brief glimpses of both Kaz and Lei arguing. Lei seemed unwilling to communicate with Kaz as he attempted to make some kind of plead with her, and he eventually walked out when she would not respond. ** Elsy meanwhile had been admiring his Bright Wing, and Kaz remarked that her and Boombox take it for a spin, an offer that was gleefully accepted. ** Vox thanked Kaz, and took his leave. He called for Terra to join, but Terra lingered to speak with Kaz. *** It was later revealed Terra was borrowing a scrap of a tent in Kaz's possession that had the ability to completely cloak whoever was beneath it. * The following morning, Kaz rang Arno. He told Arno Vox had told him about the mission with Lei, and tried to warn him to be careful. He confessed Lei was someone he used to be very close to, and still cared very deeply for. He informed Arno that Lei now had difficulties handling a gun and refused to fly. He asked that Arno take care with her. Arno inquired why Kaz didn't just speak to her if he was so worried about her, and Kaz admitted it was difficult to watch someone you love fall apart. ** Kaz suggested himself and Arno meet up sometime, and Arno bid him a swift goodbye before hanging up. Category:Characters Category:NPCS